Welcome to the Shurley English Blog! For the past thirty-four years, our mission at Shurley Instructional Materials has been simple. We do all we can to help teachers and students experience grammar and writing success. With that goal in mind, we wanted to create a space where our team of educators could share tips, tricks, and techniques to ignite learning. It’s all about educators helping educators on the Shurley English Blog. We invite you to join the conversation!

September 19, 2023

Grammar Extension: The Empowering Acrostic Poem

September 19, 2023/ Contributing Blogger

The ideal scenario for the first couple months of a new school year would be a classroom running smoothly. You want to be comfortable with your daily schedule and know that you can meet the needs of all of your diverse students.

Realistically, some of you may already feel like the expectations and duties increase even more as the fall progresses. Before you become consumed with the busyness of the new school year, always remember this: “YOU are a TEACHER!” You are the one that works to mold the future. You make an incredible impression and impact in the lives of all the students who enter your classroom.

This year is a brand new one, and if you’re ready to level-up your teaching, you should consider this question: “What kind of teacher do you want to be this year?”

October 04, 2022

Grammar Extension: The Empowering Acrostic Poem

October 04, 2022/ Contributing Blogger

This year is a brand new one, and if you’re ready to level-up your teaching, you should consider this question: “What kind of teacher do you want to be this year?”

January 01, 2020

Writing Toolbox: Let's get organized with Writing Maps!

January 01, 2020/ Kim Shurley

Teaching kids to write can be easy if you have the right tools! Getting organized is the first step, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is with an excellent set of writing maps. Writing maps are the foundation for writing success and truly help your children start out focused and on topic. What could be better than that?

At Shurley English, we want to give you a great start to the new year. Right now, you can download our Shurley English writing maps for FREE! Below, you will find a

December 27, 2019

Language Arts Success: The BEST of 2019

December 27, 2019/ Kim Shurley

As the calendar year comes to a close, a teacher’s journey is still moving at full speed. (It’s true!) We are not quite to the half-way mark of our year, and we still have much to do! As 2019 comes to a close and before you begin the second semester, I would encourage you to take a moment, stop, and reflect. It is good for the mind and soul to take note of one’s progress. What successes are you seeing in the classroom? Are you on the track you had planned? Do you need to make adjustments? To help you do so, we've assembled

December 09, 2019

Holiday Activity Time: My 12 Days of Christmas

December 09, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Coloring sheets, word puzzles, tinsel, glitter, and glue are just some of the items you’ll find scattered around many classrooms during the holidays. There are so many wonderful craft ideas and activities people have used to make the season a memorable one at school. Here’s a fun way to keep your students engaged in writing during the weeks before holiday break.

Ask students to use their creativity to

October 02, 2019

Grammar Extension: The Empowering Acrostic Poem

October 02, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

This year is a brand new one, and if you’re ready to level-up your teaching, you should consider this question: “What kind of teacher do you want to be this year?”

August 15, 2019

Shurley English 101: Teaching with Confidence

August 15, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

So, you have purchased your Shurley curriculum, you open the book or access your digital teacher’s manual…and then it hits you! “What’s all this? How am I going to cover all of it? Can I even do it?” If you have had these or similar feelings, don’t panic. It’s going to be all right.

My post today is about confidence. Yes! You can teach with confidence, especially if you are just embarking upon your first journey with Shurley English. I realize that the sheer volume of information about English that we teach might be enough to send you to the edge. But, pull back. Breathe. Help is on the way.

August 01, 2019

The goal of Shurley English

August 01, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

It’s that time of year again, and most teachers are trying their best to enjoy their final days of summer break. It’s hard to believe that some schools have already started professional development opportunities for their staff members. Before you know it, your own classroom will be filled with a new group of young learners.

Some teachers are looking forward to teaching a new curriculum this year. Even though that can be exciting and motivating, it can also cause feelings of nervousness. Some teachers have a curriculum in place with nothing new to add. For these teachers, feelings of confidence about the content are more likely to occur. Either way, it’s helpful to be reminded of curriculum goals and to be re-motivated to teach certain subjects.

If Shurley English training is not on your professional development schedule this year, I’m here to remind you of your goal when you teach the curriculum…

June 06, 2019

Creating a Writing Inspiration Station

June 06, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

There’s nothing like the dreaded feeling of sitting at your desk with a blank sheet of writing paper staring back at you. You see some of your classmates busily jotting down ideas; you see them creating their prewriting map; or you see some classmates looking upward with a pleasant grin, lost in their imagination. Not you though; your white paper just taunts you with thoughts like these: “So, what are you going to write about this time?” or “There’s nothing to write about; you’re all out of ideas!”

April 11, 2019

ELA Success: Patience is key!

April 11, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Most of my blog content comes from questions I’ve answered at one time or another from teachers and administrators who use Shurley English. I often hear the urgency in their voices, and they seem to be looking for a quick fix to the problems their students are experiencing. Sure, we all want quick results, but usually, by the time you manage to find just the right curriculum or just the right supplement to your teaching, the students have moved on. Then, you get a new batch of students with similar but unique struggles, and you’re back at it again, trying to find what works and what works fast.

Even though we, as a society, rely on instant gratification, immediate feedback, and quick results, the outcome of an exemplary education won’t happen that way. Honestly, we all know there are NO quick fixes that produce the quality results we’re seeking, not in life or in curriculum.